Hitting a new personal finance milestone

Took some time to read my previous posts and feeling a little nostalgic. The thing about writing is that once you lose your momentum, it's hard to get it back. 

A quick status update since my last post which was the start of this year. And now we're inching towards the last quarter of the year. Time truly flies when you get older.

I'm currently in my 4th job since graduation, a number I wouldn't have expected as a fresh grad. I thought I would've stuck to my first and retired in it... Well life happens haha.

I wish I could say that I'm less lost as compared to 2018-2019 me (past posts showed my existential crisis) but I'm here to report that I'm still figuring life out. I guess it will stay this way for many more years to come, but I would like to think that I am slightly less anxious about the future now. Life is always unpredictable, and things can change in an instant. I've learnt that after witnessing health scares, sudden illnesses and deaths. That nothing is guaranteed, and all we have is now.

Anyway, I'm still onto the habit of tracking my finances on a monthly basis. As a regular salaryman clocking a 9-5 with no additional side hustles (unlike my very hardworking peers), the net worth climb is slow but I'm thankful that it has been steadily increasing. With the market being very optimistic these few months, I've managed to cross the half-million mark in terms of net worth! *pops confetti* A milestone that others won't bat an eyelid at, but something I'm really proud of. :') 

I do foresee some fluctuations if the market corrects + when I finally get my keys to my new place next year, but such goal posts motivate me to keep on striving and accumulate more assets so that I can have options in the future. 

It has been 9 years since I started working and I'm grateful to have a steady income in the midst of global uncertainty, esp in recent years. I am excited to look at where I'm at in 9 years' time, and hopefully what I've built these years would be able to give me more options by then. 

Setting goals for 2025 | Financial, personal targets

 It's officially the seventh day of 2025! My mind is still stuck in 2024, trying to convince myself that it's the new year already.

There was a sudden cloud of gloom while I was at work today. Not sure how it came about, but I guess it's partially caused by the new year. The end/start of a year always makes people more introspective, and I think it made me reflect a little more about my 2024 and it makes me want to take action on some things and keep myself accountable.

Since I'm in the mood, I've decided to write it down so that I can check back on them a year later. 

Financial goals

1) Find some way to earn side income

This mainly came from some self-pity when I thought about my salary hahaha. As someone who's very interested in personal finance, I'm sometimes embarrassed to say that my salary is not high, nor do I have any side gigs that brings me income. 

I've done the usuals - small paid surveys, interest from HYSAs, gov bonds etc. Though these extra cash were useful, I think it's time to think about bumping up my income a little further through other endeavours. The tough part is always scoping out what you're good at and what you can monetise, so I hope there's something I can eventually get started on this year.

2) Increase my investments

2024 was a year which I watched the stock market rally while I stayed at the sidelines. I think it was a very common investor mistake, staying out of the market while wishing that it would dip someday... only for it to go higher.

This has resulted in me holding more cash than I wished for. All because I've been waiting for that dip. That being said, I think it helped me understand my investment psychology a little more too. With that, I hope I'm able to invest more regardless of the market ups and downs this year.

3) Aim to have a higher increase my net worth compared to last year

This year has been a kind year for investing. While my income barely increased as compared to 2023, I managed to have the highest net worth increase in a year. 

For this coming year, I don't anticipate having a decent salary increase (based on how my company gives increments... it's really bad), unless I change jobs. This goal might be a stretch but it's something I hope to achieve through an increase in investments and maybe a lower spending rate.

Personal goals

4) Read at least five times a week

I love reading. Reading makes me feel like I'm peering into the brains of smart people who are specialised in their respective fields. I tend to read from my phone/ipad because I'm too cheap to buy a ebook reader haha. And because of that, I would easily get distracted by the other apps on the phone/ipad. Eventually, my reading habit went away.

This year, I aim to read more. My reading time goal is set at 10min, definitely not the longest but I think it's more sustainable to have a reasonable duration.

Started the year great because I've been reading almost everyday! Today's read was The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger M.D., a book I highly recommend (am rereading it!).

5) Get moving twice a week

As I'm in my 30s, I'm starting to feel the effects of getting older... especially being a rather sedentary person. I've read about the benefits of strength training and am definitely planning to go into that. 

I've once read somewhere that exercise is the only thing that you'll guaranteed to succeed. For investments, results are not guaranteed. In a relationship, there's no guarantee that you're get the love you give. For your career, success depends on so many factors as well. But if you put in the time and effort to work out, you are bound to see positive changes.

This is such a motivating thought haha.

6) Change job

Am starting to feel really stagnant at my current role. A company with incompetent management makes it a lot more uninspiring and dead end as well. Having changed a few jobs in the past, I'm more familiar with spotting signs on when it's time to leave a job. I know that my time is up but the market has been rather muted recently.

Keeping my fingers crossed that a suitable opportunity would pop up some time this year.

7) Be more intentional about my food intake

Another thing that only happened in my 30s is realising how calories are starting to show up on the body haha. With so much good food around me at work, it's very easy to be tempted by little treats that are packed with calories.

As someone who gets hungry easily, I'm hoping to be more intentional with my meal and snack choices because the sugars/oils/fats do add up. Here's to choosing more whole foods and ditching ultra processed ones more often this year!

Already looking forward to checking back in a year's time to see how I've fared haha.